John Luther
DCI John Luther is a character in the BBC One's Science Fiction Crime drama, Luther. The character is played by Idris Elba. Biography Background Luther works in law enforcement for London's SCU (Serious Crime Unit) and is a hard working, selfless, muscular and handsome man who married huminitarian lawyer Zoe, undoubtedley because of their huminitarian interests. The series begins with Luther tracking a child killer named Henry Madsen. Luther succesfully hunts him down and after getting details from him about the wherabouts of one of his latest victims, allows him to fall from a ledge, breaking many bones in his body. Luther is suspended on the suspicion that he attempted to kill Henry Madsen and this puts some strain on his marriage to Zoe. Luther is extremely dedicated to his job - a trait that is both a blessing and a curse. Idris Elba said of his character, : "You know when you watch the news and someone has killed their children? And your instinct is to be like, 'Oh, if I got my hands on them'? Well, his instinct is to do that but he's a police officer. And when he does get his hands on them, he doesn't necessarily follow procedure. He will be as vindictive as the criminal". Ability Luther is one of the most talented detectives on the team, with the ability to put himself in the criminal shoes and know what they are thinking. Interestingly, he also goes by instinct, although this may be confused with intelligence, sometimes making Luther seem like a very unusual detective. One instance of this was when he accused Alice Morgan of killing her parents because she didn't yawn, when really, he was simply looking for an excuse to confirm his instinctual feelings, despite any initial evidence that Alice was the killer. This ability is both a blessing and a curse, one that Rose Teller says "And that just infuriates you doesn't it?" Series One John was suspended but later returned to find out who a murder was commimted by. A dedicated copper, Luther is also an inspired maker of connections and a whirlwind genius. He is dazzling, obsessive, possessed - and sometimes dangerous in the violence of his fixations. But Luther has paid a heavy price for his dedication; he has recently suffered a mental breakdown following the traumatic investigation into child serial killer Henry Madsen. On his return to duty, Luther struggles to balance the psychological demands of his work at the same time as trying to save his marriage to his wife, Zoe. Luther and Zoe met and fell in love at university, but their relationship has been under pressure for a long time. Zoe said she still loves Luther in episode 1, but that he was too much of a workaholic saying "But you're never here with me. Not all of you". Luther has never been able to prevent himself from being consumed by the darkness of the crimes he deals with and this has pushed his wife away. With Luther, the job always comes first and his dedication is a curse and a blessing; an albatross around both their necks. In Episode 1, he has discovered Zoe (his wife) had a new boyfriend called Mark North. But she still had sex with Luther, suggesting she still loved him, something Mark North never knew about. In this series, he threatens Alice Morgan on a bridge telling her to "stay away from Zoe", after Alice threatened Zoe. After Alice killed Henry Madsen to supposedley save his life, John is confused and tells her to 'stay the fuck away from his life' but is later reconciled with her. After being accused of the murder of Zoe- who was in reality killed by Ian Reed - Luther goes on the run determined to "live long enough to see Reed dead". Interestingly, Luther gets a team together with Alice and Mark, corners Ian and Alice kills him with a double barrel shotgun to his chest. With Ian dead and police sirens being heard, Luther is the only one to speak. He simply says 'now what'? Appearance John Luther is a black detective, born in London. He is tall, muscular and grizzly, somewhat menacing and over protective over children. He often wears grey checked suits, matching trousers, along with a slightly light grey/blue shirts and various ties, often either red or blue, or a mixture of the two colors. Relationships Zoe Luther While they were both in university, Zoe met and married John. Their marriage broke while Zoe fell in love with Mark North, and when Zoe was shot by Ian Reed. Alice Morgan Although not dating, Alice and Luther have worked together ever since the death of Luther's wife. In Episode 2, Series 2, Alice asks Luther to come with her on holiday to see various places, but Luther declines on the basis that he has Ripley and the girl to sort out first. Although Luther was smiling to himself about the idea previously, he told Alice, "I know you understand". Personality DCI John Luther is an incredibly talented detective, with the ability to analyse situations quickly and put himself in the shoes of the criminal to understand what they are thinking and how they can be caught. Luthers ability to do this may have resulted from extensive dectective work, as Luther is a workaholic and uses work to mask over problems he has in his personal life. In Episode 1, Series 1 , Luther becomes heavily involved in the Alice Morgan case, despite having nothing to go on, correlating with issues with his wife Zoey. As a selfless individual working tirelessly to keep London safe, Luther's own home is very meagre. He possesses very little, despite working in his capacity for several years. The things which he does have, such as his car, are usually very old but are durable. Luther doesn't seem to mind living it rough and lives very humbly. Alice Morgan, an arch-enemy-turned-friend, was the opposite. She lost faith in love claiming "all it does is make us corrupt". When she met Luther, her faith in love was revived and she comes to call Luther a "friend" for saving her from a meaningless life. Outlook Luther is constantly burdened with the cares of his work and he seldom gets any time for himself. As a result, Luther deals with his stress with outbursts of anger, although only with inanimate objects. They go to show that Luther is a sensitive and loving person under a strong, hard and tough shell. Alice Morgan warns Luther that, just as what happened to her, "the people around you are vampires...they will suck you dry" in reference to sucking his soul dry of love and passion. Luther has a do-it-myself attitude, mainly because the police take too long to arrive. It means, he is often in confrontation with the criminal. It also means that he has a hard time trying to keep his hands clean, because criminals may try to attack him, he has to use all means possible to bring them in to custody on his own. In Series 1, Episode 5 he even throws a Good News Bible at one of the crimials to catch them off guard. Luther values weight training and even has weight training equipment in his office. Luther says: Key Life Events Category:Main Characters Category:Characters